Before
by Shelliebelle
Summary: This story ends with the beginning. It is the story of before. Not quite so far back as once upon a time, and nowhere near happily ever after…but somewhere just prior to the real beginning.
1. Chapter 1

_This is an alternative version of the story before the story - that is, all the happenings before Usagi and Mamoru first meet._

_It should be a relatively short - though multi-chaptered - story. _

_After all, I've got the perfect ending. Or is it the perfect beginning?_

This story ends with the beginning. It is the story of before. Not quite so far back as once upon a time, and nowhere near happily ever after…but somewhere just prior to the real beginning. It is the story of a boy and a girl and how they came to meet. It is not the story that everyone tells, nor is it the one most remember. Nor, in the scheme of things, is it one of much importance. But it is unique, and, if just for that, is worth being told.

Machines whirred, clicked and beeped endlessly in the small, sterile room. The walls were covered with wallpaper that had long since faded to a nondescript greenish hue. A chair rested against the far wall, opposite a hospital bed. A woman sat rigid in the chair, pale and wan, and the man standing beside her, with his hand resting reassuringly on her shoulder, appeared none better.

The fragile girl in the bed was pale and unmoving, except for the rise and fall of her chest, with each shallow breath she took.

She had been unconscious and unresponsive for three days, and her doctors did not hold out much hope for her survival.

Chiba Mamoru entered the museum for the first time on a Tuesday. He wasn't quite sure why, but somehow the timing just _felt_ right. He'd first noticed it on Thursday of the week before, on his daily walk home. He couldn't remember having seen it before, but the pristine, bright sign proclaiming "Museum of Antiquities" just seemed to call to him somehow.

The lobby floor was laid with marble, and immediately he was struck with how very small the museum was indeed, to have been put in the middle of a shopping district. Didn't they usually have buildings specially built for museums?

"May I help you?"

Mamoru turned, confronted with a man, who, though he looked young enough, sported long, white hair.

"Uh, yeah," Mamoru said, "I was hoping to take a tour of the museum. What's the price of admission?"

The man looked Mamoru over for a moment, his blue eyes narrowing thoughtfully. Finally he straightened, offering his hand to Mamoru, who shook it warily.

"For you, free. I'm the docent of this museum. Artemis, by name."

"Oh. It seems kind of small, for a museum," Mamoru commented, as the man led him through a narrow doorway, into a darkened room. Artemis had the sense to look abashed.

"Well, it's not a typical museum. You see, we specialize in Moon lore and artifacts." He flipped a switch on the wall, and the room flared to life, revealing ancient looking books on stands, paintings, and statues.

"Moon artifacts?" Mamoru sounded doubtful.

"Quite. You see, more than a thousand years ago, there was a thriving civilization on the moon, a marvelous kingdom, quite advanced, even for this day and age." Artemis lifted a heavy tome, smoothing his fingers lovingly over the hard cover, and hefted it into Mamoru's arms. "Go ahead. Take a look."

"Won't it damage the book if I do that?" Mamoru asked.

"No, no, of course not. Books made on the moon are of hardier stuff than ancient Earth texts." Artemis sounded faintly scornful. Mamoru shrugged, setting the heavy book on a nearby table. He opened it, peering curiously at what was written within.

"It's…it's not in English," he said, scanning the flowing text for familiar letters or symbols.

"Of course it's not in English. You couldn't expect such an advanced culture to speak such a clumsy language, could you?" Artemis huffed in annoyance, thumbing through the book as though he could easily go purchase another.

"What does it say?"

Artemis sighed. "Honestly, I have no idea. The last person who could speak Lunarian died nearly three centuries ago. No one has been able to read the language in more than five."

"Then what good are the books, if no one can read them?"

Artemis stared at Mamoru for a long moment, as if appraising him. Then, he reached inside his shirt, retrieving an old key on a long, silver chain.

"I'll show you," he said. He motioned for Mamoru to follow him across the room to a door hidden under a heavy tapestry. He shoved the key into the lock, wrenching the long unused door handle, and leading Mamoru into the dark room. When the lights came on, Mamoru unwittingly took a few steps forward, eyes wide in amazement. Catching himself, he turned to look at Artemis for approval.

"It's okay, go take a look."

With permission granted, Mamoru strode eagerly forward. He stopped inches away, gazing in open admiration at the figure before him. The statue was on a pedestal about five feet in height. It was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.

"It doesn't look like marble," he said to Artemis.

"_She_ is made of wax," Artemis said, moving up beside him. "This is a carving of the Princess Serenity, heiress to the moon kingdom, high priestess of the empire, protector of her people. Isn't she beautiful?"

"Yes," Mamoru breathed, "she was. This is an actual likeness of her, then?"

"Supposedly," Artemis said, "though no actual portraits of the princess survived. You see, most of the books and artifacts in the museum were not recovered from the destroyed Moon kingdom, but were already in the hands of Earth families at the time of the Moon kingdom's destruction. For centuries afterwards, all Moon artifacts were contraband, and just owning one could have gotten you hanged. Still, many miraculously survived. I think it was by the Lady's grace."

"What?" Mamoru asked, without looking at Artemis. He couldn't tear his gaze from the wax carving on the pedestal. The woman looked _real_. She was perfect…complete with long blonde hair, and a white chiffon dress. She was kneeling on the pedestal, eyes closed, smiling serenely, hands clasped as though in prayer with a string of pearls threaded through them. Even a delicate crystalline tiara was perched atop her hair.

"That's what Legend says it was, whenever there was an unexplainable bout of good luck, it was by Lady's grace, Serenity's grace. I'm sure she would want to be remembered."

"What happened to her?"

Artemis sighed, as though he hated telling this part of the story.

"She – and her people with her – were slaughtered. As the story goes, she was in love with the Prince of Earth, Endymion. But he was betrothed to another, and that jealous lady made use of the dark arts to end her fiancé's dalliance with Princess Serenity. But, in the end, Enydmion died with her, and some say that her soul waits for Endymion's reincarnation to free her from her troubled sleep. She cannot rest until she is with him once again."

"Where did you hear that legend? I thought no one could read the books."

"And no one can. That legend has been told in my family for hundreds of years. That sculpture was done by a distant relation of mine, many centuries ago, and it has survived in the capable hands of my family for that long. We have long been protectors of the old legends. We believe the old stories. Would you like to know why I brought you to this room?"

"That would be nice," Mamoru dragged his gaze away from the sculpture long enough to meet Artemis' gaze. The man reached behind the pillar, dragging out a frame covered by a dusty cloth. He dragged the cloth away, and held the painting to the light, for Mamoru to see.

"That…that looks like…" Mamoru's mouth went dry as he looked on the portrait that Artemis held.

"You," Artemis supplied helpfully. "As a matter of fact, this is a portrait of Prince Endymion, one of the few in existence. That's why you're here." He set the portrait down, gently replacing the cloth over it. "Obviously, looking like him does not make you his reincarnation, but I figured it's worth a shot."

"What's 'worth a shot'?" Mamoru asked uneasily.

"You see, there's another legend," Artemis began. "This is no ordinary wax sculpture. It has been just like this, this perfect, this vibrant, this _real_ for hundreds of years. My family's legend says that is because it is the favored shell for Serenity's soul, when Endymion returns to her. We have spent generations trying to find Endymion's reincarnation."

"I don't know," Mamoru said. "I don't _feel_ like a reincarnated prince. I don't have any weird memories or anything."

"Would you be willing to just…just _try_?" Artemis asked.

"Try what? I'm sorry, I don't know anything about summoning ancient dead princesses." Mamoru's laugh was strained.

Artemis winced. "To tell you the truth," he admitted, "I don't know what to do, either. None of the legends mentioned anything beyond finding Endymion's reincarnation."

"Oh. Well." Mamoru surprised himself by moving back towards the sculpture of the princess. She really was beautiful. The artist must have been an expert craftsman. She looked like a truly real person. He almost expected to see her breathing.

His eyes widened suddenly, watching in surprise as her chest moved, just a little, in a shallow breath.

"I thought…I-I thought I saw…" He reached out, touching her arm, but instead of feeling smooth wax, he felt warm flesh. He jerked his hand back in surprise, as her eyes opened, a clear, flawless blue. The pearls in her hand fell with a clattering sound to the floor as she dropped them to reach out her hand to Mamoru. The movement unbalanced her, and she fell. Mamoru instinctively raised his arms to catch her, just as she toppled into them. She didn't weigh much, but the shock of it all made his legs go out from under him, and he hit the ground hard.

"Ouch!" His butt smarted, but more disturbing was the press of soft skin against his chest, and those blue eyes gazing into his as she whispered his name. Only it wasn't his.

"_Endymion._"


	2. Chapter 2

"As far as I know," Doctor Mizuno began with a sigh, as she flipped through the papers on her clipboard, "she should be a perfectly healthy young woman. We've done cat scans, blood tests, MRIs - everything I could possibly think of - and come up with nothing. She's suffered no stress, no trauma to the head, no illness. There is no apparent reason for her condition, and yet her coma persists." She glanced up, noting the worried, pale faces of the girl's parents.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly. "There is nothing that medical science can do for her. All I can recommend is that you not give up hope."

Mamoru stared blankly, his mind refusing entirely to process the happenings of the last few moments. There was _not_ a beautiful woman in his arms, she was _not_ touching his face with those delicate, cool fingers, and she was _certainly_ not speaking to him in some musical, foreign language.

And yet his eyes traced the fine lines of her face, drinking in those startlingly blue eyes fringed with thick black lashes, her pale cheeks, and her glossy pink lips, pursed so deliciously in confusion. Her palm cupped his cheek, drawing his attention back to her speech. It was a beautiful, lyrical language, every sentence a song, and he was sure no such language had ever been spoken on Earth.

She seemed to realize that he couldn't understand her, because she switched to what sounded like Latin. She spoke only a few words before his blank stare told her he still couldn't understand her. Speaking rapidly, she went through a myriad of languages…Greek, French, Italian, German, and English all came and went before she at last began cycling through various Asian languages and dialects.

"Japanese? I wouldn't think so with those eyes of yours," she said, and promptly moved on to Chinese. Mamoru's dazed mind cleared immediately, and he gasped out a response.

"Yes, yes, Japanese! I speak Japanese!"

"Oh, wonderful. I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to communicate with you at all!" She smiled beatifically at him, and Mamoru felt his heart skip a beat.

"Well, uh…I know this is going to sound weird, but…why are you here? What just happened here?"

She frowned, a distressed expression crossing her face for a moment.

"Didn't you summon me, Endymion?" She asked.

"It's Mamoru. My name is Mamoru," he replied. "And, well…I _guess_ I summoned you, but it was sort of an accident. Artemis said that you were fated to return when reunited with Endymion."

"Oh, no," she gasped, scrambling off his lap in complete horror, "oh, no, this is all wrong! Artemis, I need you!"

Artemis stepped smoothly out of the shadows, appearing not at all shocked at the turn of events.

"I am here, your highness," he said, bowing low. To Mamoru he looked ridiculous, bowing so to a young woman easily a foot shorter than he.

"You," Serenity said firmly, "are not Artemis."

"Not the Artemis you knew, your highness," he agreed. "I am his grandson, many generations over. I am willing and prepared to serve you as faithfully as my namesake did so many centuries ago." He remained as he was, bent at the waist nearly ninety degrees, until she finally gave him leave to rise.

"I thank you, and I gratefully accept your offer of assistance. I fear I will require much of it in a very short space of time." She turned away, crossing the room quickly, beckoning to both men to follow.

"You see," she said grimly, "a very grave error has been made here today."

"I don't understand," Artemis said, "there should be no error. The wax sculpture of your likeness has long been protected by my family in preparation for your return. The legends were clear. They said you were fated to return, and you have."

"Oh, yes," she agreed. "I'm certain the legends were clear. It is the interpretation of them that has caused this situation. You see, I stand before you now with a borrowed body and a borrowed soul."

Mamoru's brow furrowed in confusion.

"I don't get it. How can you borrow a soul? I thought it was pretty much one to a customer," he said wryly.

"And so it is," she replied. "My soul, like yours, Mamoru, has already been reborn. Souls never die, for though life for the body ends, the soul is eternal. My reincarnation is alive at this time. I believe the legends must have spoken of our reunion in this time, not of the meeting of a man and a wax sculpture," she said, and Mamoru thought he detected a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"Souls can easily become confused, and it can be dangerous to meddle in affairs beyond your scope of knowledge. This has all been a grave mistake, and I fear it will soon be too late to rectify."

"But how can you be borrowing someone's soul? What will happen to your reincarnation if she has no soul?" Mamoru's mind was whirling again, and he was halfway towards convincing himself that he'd fallen asleep reading some bizarre sci-fi novel, and was now having a dream of epic proportions.

"That is what I fear most of all. Without a soul, the human body will die. Perhaps it will take a few days, but death for one without a soul is inevitable. She will die if we do not come up with a solution soon. This vessel is not equipped to carry a soul permanently. It is very unpredictable magic that binds this soul to this form. Eventually, this soul will leave this body, and I do not know what will happen if there is no living person for it to return to. I would hate," she whispered, holding Mamoru's eyes, "to lose you when I was so close to finding you again."

The sight of her tragic face touched something in Mamoru he'd long forgotten existed. Almost as if it had a will of its own, his hand came up to trace the soft curve of her cheek, stroking the warm skin beneath her ear. Her eyes closed, and her face turned into his hand, savoring the touch.

"Don't cry," he said softly, because he was suddenly very afraid that she would, and this woman stirred emotions in him that no other human being ever had. His reactions to her were both puzzling and terrifying. One of her cool hands held his to her cheek. She drew in a deep, steadying breath and all at once dropped his hand.

"I hope," she said briskly, "that you gentlemen can find something to occupy you for the time being. There is much to be done and very little time."

"What may I do to assist you, your highness?" Artemis asked, sinking into another low bow. She waved him away in irritation.

"Enough formalities, if you please," she replied, "I haven't the time for them. As for your offer of assistance, I fear you will be quite unable to assist me unless you can read Lunarian. Can you?"

"No, my lady," Artemis responded. "It has long been considered a dead language."

She clicked her tongue, lifting heavy tomes from the desk, brushing dust from covers to read the titles, and stacking them as they were discarded.

"If I may ask, my lady, what are you looking for?"

"A book of legends, Artemis. Anything that will help me to better understand exactly where this legend has gone awry and what can be done to correct it. Somehow the legends and prophecies and fate have been enmeshed until everything is a mess, and, though my soul is alive this day, I have been dead for over a thousand years and I have no idea how to fix it all. Here," she dropped a stack of books into his arms, and retrieved another stack for Mamoru.

"What are we supposed to do with these?" Mamoru asked. "We can't read them."

"I know, I know," she said, fluttering her fingers at them as she opened a few texts on the table. "Even if you can't read them, perhaps there are some paintings within that might lend insight as to the content of the book. We haven't the time to read them all."

"How much time _do_ we have?" Mamoru asked. Even as the question crossed his lips, he was uncertain if he really wanted to know the answer. Her delicate shoulders rose in small, graceful shrug. She kept her eyes firmly on the text before her, scanning the page quickly.

"I am as yet uncertain. It could be only hours. It will certainly not be more than a few days." Her tone was desolate, the impossibility of the task suddenly evident. She flipped the pages of the book quickly, sighing as she abandoned it in favor of another.

"Artemis," she asked, "have you a more modern history of them moon? Something from this time?"

"Yes, I believe so," he said. "I keep them in the lobby. They're easily found and don't require special care, which I why I don't keep them in here. I'll be just a moment." He returned scant seconds later with a heavy book and handed it over to Serenity. She opened it, marveling at the glossy pages and colorful pictures. Pages rustled as she flipped through them, gleaning bits of information. Finally she stopped, a horrified gasp on her lips.

"What has happened to my _home_?" Her voice was broken, and her fingers traced the enlarged photograph of the moon's surface delicately. Tears threatened, glistening in her eyes like diamonds.

"Your highness, is it possible that you do not know?" Artemis asked hesitantly.

"Artemis," her voice was clipped, irritated. "I _died_ there. I do not share the memories of those alive today. This is not the moon I remember. This is…this is a catastrophe. This is horrific."

Artemis blew out an unsteady breath. "Your highness, after your death, in the battle, the kingdom of the moon was completely destroyed. So completely was it demolished that it is now unable to even support life. Those who could escape made a new life on the Earth, and those who could not…died where they lay. Very few still believe there was ever a kingdom on the moon. Your sacrifice has been forgotten; your story told only in legends and never as fact."

"I…see." She visibly composed herself, blinking back her tears. She flipped a few more pages before she once again found a picture that interested her.

"That sculpture," she said. "Where might it be found?"

Artemis peered over her shoulder at the page. She was pointing to a sculpture of Prince Endymion, dressed for battle, a forbidding expression on his handsome face. Mamoru could see the resemblance to himself in the sculpture.

"I…don't know. It doesn't say. If I could have a little time, I'm certain I can find out."

"Do," she said crisply, closing the book. "That is where I am supposed to be. I can feel it."


	3. Chapter 3

"She's going to die."

"Don't say that. Don't even think that." In the hospital room, a man clutched his daughter's cold, lifeless fingers, willing some life back into her. Slowly she was fading, he could almost see the colors draining from her once-vibrant hair. Her eyes had not opened in four days. She could no longer breathe on her own.

"My baby, my daughter. I don't understand. She's so young, so…."

"She's strong." He didn't sound any more hopeful than she did. "She'll get through it. She'll fight. She'll live."

But neither of them believed it.

--

"You will have to be prepared," Serenity cautioned Mamoru. "There will be many enemies in the times to come; you must be a faithful defender of this planet or it will be lost again."

"Lost? Again?" Mamoru echoed weakly.

Artemis stepped in. "Perhaps this isn't the best time for this conversation," he began.

"No, I want to know. How was it lost before?" Mamoru asked.

"The last time...in the last life, Endymion, we were not meant to be. We loved, yet our love brought the destruction of both our planets. Earth fell first, and then, in the war for the Moon, you were killed, defending me. It is something I did not want, and in my grief, I used the power of the Ginzuishou, the mystical silver crystal, to begin us again, to let everyone be reborn on a living Earth. It took over a thousand years for my magic to bring us back. In that time, the balance of Earth has shifted. You have lost your Kingdom, Mamoru. You have lost your throne and your people. This time, I fear that you will lose something infinitely more precious should we fail."

"We won't fail." He hoped he sounded certain, despite his own apprehensions. He wanted to reassure her; to put at ease the mind of the woman his heart already loved, had somehow always loved. "We won't fail this time."

"No." She smiled. "I believe in you. I have faith in you. You have never failed me, Mamoru. You never will."

He wished he could be as certain as she was.

"My lady, if you please." Artemis steered her away. "I believe I may have found what we are looking for."

Her hand flew to her throat. "The...the statue? You have found it? You have found Endymion?"

"I believe so. It resides in a museum just outside of Tokyo. We must make haste if we wish to make it before closing." He ushered Serenity and Mamoru out the back of the Museum of Antiquities, towards his car parked in the alleyway. Serenity touched the glossy surface in wonder, even as Mamoru opened the door to let her in.

"What a fascinating means of conveyance," she said, sliding into the car. "Artemis, I have another task for you. It is of the utmost importance."

"Whatever you wish, my lady, it will be done."

"I will need you to find Princess Venus. She always was the strongest of the soldiers. She will be their leader, so you will need to train her well. She will know what she has to do, and you must help her in it. I feel...I feel I will not awaken for some time, so Venus must be the Princess in my stead. A decoy, if you will. She has played her part before, she will be well-versed in being me."

"I will do it, my lady." Artemis punched the gas pedal, speeding towards the outskirts of Tokyo.

---

At dusk they reached it at last. It had been a mostly silent trip, fraught with nerves and tentative hope. They exited the car, climbing the wide concrete steps to the large, double doors at the entrance. The doors were locked; a sign stating their normal hours told them the museum had closed twenty minutes prior. They'd missed it.

"No!" A little sob rose out of Serenity's throat, which she muffled almost immediately. "No, we were...so, so close!"

Mamoru began pounding on the door. "Hello? Is anyone in there? Please, we need to get inside!" He pounded for long minutes to no avail."No, it can't end like this." His hands raked through his hair, despair coloring his words. "It can't...end."

There was no time left, and he knew it. Serenity could not wait until tomorrow. Her soul would leave the shell it was inhabiting, but her living body would be dead. There was no hope. All his life, hope and love had been cruelly snatched from him time and time again – to be given a new chance and once again have it slip through his fingers was unbearable.

"What are you doing out here? The museum is closed. You may return tomorrow, during normal business hours."

A black-haired woman had pulled around the back in a dark convertible, and was staring them down curiously.

Serenity gasped. "Luna?"

The woman turned, looking straight at Serenity, her eyes widening as she recognized her. "Pr...Princess?" She faltered. Her wide-eyed gaze searched the faces of the two men accompanying Serenity. "Artemis?" She gasped, then turned to Mamoru. "And is that…are you…could it be…?"

Serenity clutched her flowing skirts, a trembling smile on her lips as she approached the woman she had known so well in the past. "Luna, please, I beg of you. Can you reopen the museum?"

"Of...of course. Right away." He trembling fingers shut off the car, and she walked to the museum entrance on unsteady legs, fitting the key to the front door's lock. "There, it's open." She ushered them inside, switching on lights as she went.

"Where is the statue of Endymion?" Artemis asked Luna.

"Right up there." Luna pointed up a set of stairs. "On a dais right up those stairs." She ran trembling fingers through her hair nervously.

"Luna, I have a task for you," Serenity said. "Soon this soul will return to its new body, soon I will begin my life anew. I will need your protection, Luna. You know your duty."

Luna nodded. "I had...I had begun to think this day would never come," she said. "I had given up hope."

Serenity smiled. "There is always hope. Always."

Together they all climbed the stairs. A terrible sadness gripped Mamoru. Now she would go away. Now he would be alone again. It was a terrible feeling.

"Endymion," Serenity breathed as the statue came into view.

It was a master work. The carved marble man looked like he might take a breath at any moment, or swing his sharp sword downwards in a killing blow. He had a beautiful face, Mamoru's face, and his arm was curved like he was holding something against his chest, but there was nothing there.

Serenity touched Mamoru's face, and kissed his cheek. "Don't be sad," she said, as though she could see inside his soul. "We will meet again. I promise you this."

Slowly she stepped onto the marble dais, sliding into the arms of the statue, resting her cheek against his marble chest.

"Endymion," she breathed, closing her eyes.

At once a brilliant light filled the room. Mamoru shielded his eyes, waiting for the light to fade. When it did, he was alone in the room with just one marble statue, that of Endymion fearlessly protecting his Serenity, the marble from which the statue was carved perfect and unbroken. The two lovers were one, once again, finally. Luna and Artemis were no where to be found.

Cab fare back to Tokyo was ridiculously expensive, and by the time Mamoru made it back home he had almost managed to convince himself that he had dreamed up the whole adventure. But for the horrible sense of loss he felt and the small gold star-shaped locket in his pocket, he might've succeeded.

---

In Juuban district, for the first time in four days, a young girl opened her eyes. She surveyed her surroundings curiously, carefully removing the breathing mask that had been placed over her mouth. She sat up and yawned, stretching, wondering why she was in, of all places, a hospital.

Across the room, Ikuko opened her eyes, wondering what had startled her out of a sound sleep.

"Good morning, Mama," Usagi said cheerfully. Ikuko stifled a relieved sob, pushing the nurse's intercom button.

"She's awake. Oh, god, she's awake!" She cried. She took up her daughter's hand, resolving to never again badger her daughter about school or grades or anything. It was enough to just have her alive, awake. "Usagi," she whispered. "Oh, Usagi, are you feeling okay?"

"Of course I am, Mama." She yawned again. "But I had the _strangest_ dream."

---

"I can't show this to Mama," Usagi sighed, crumpling up her test paper. "She'll kill me! I can't believe it. A thirty? It's really not fair of Haruna-sensei to give me a test," she pouted. "How could I study for a test when I was in a coma for four days? What am I going to _do_?" She wailed miserably.

She stopped in front of a jewelry store, pausing to admire the window display.

"Well, I guess there's no help for it," she murmured. "I'll just have to get rid of the evidence." Resolutely, she tossed the crumpled paper over her shoulder.

"Hey, what do I look like, a trash can? Watch where you're throwing things!" She heard the sound of the crumpled up paper being smoothed out and winced. "A _thirty_? Admirable, Odango Atama," the man remarked scathingly.

"Don't call me that!" She snapped, whirling to snatch the paper out of the man's hand. She was about to flounce away in a flurry of self-righteous indignation, but something made her pause to look back at the man she had unwittingly hit with her test paper. He had his hands crammed into the pockets of his jeans, and his hideous green jacket was perhaps the ugliest, most unfortunate-looking one she'd ever seen, but there was something oddly compelling about his handsome face. He looked familiar; she was sure she recognized him from somewhere but could not remember where.

He was staring at her with a mixture of shock and surprise etched on his face, as if he, too, recognized her.

Uncomfortable with his scrutiny, Usagi turned away in a huff, heading for the arcade on the corner.

Sufficiently recovered from his shock, Mamoru denied the thought that had flashed through his mind the instant he'd seen her face – surely this girl couldn't be…no, it was impossible. There had to be a hundred other women with Serenity's features. She had none of Serenity's ethereal fragility, none of her regal grace and charm.

"Hey!" He called after her. "You really should pay more attention in school!"

He smothered a laugh as she tripped over her own feet, almost catapulting herself into a passerby.

"What do you know?" She shot back, sticking out her tongue, nearly falling into a trashcan that she'd somehow not seen while shouting at him. As she disappeared into the arcade, Mamoru shook his head, amused at her childish antics, then turned around and headed for home – but a part of him hoped that he'd see the girl again, if only because she broke the monotony of his everyday life.

It would be some time before they would meet again; longer still until they would uncover the truth of their past lives and rediscover a love that had been fated for disaster in the past.

But _that_ is another story entirely.


End file.
